Chronic Illness – Finally evidence that ME is a biological illness and not a Psychological Disorder.

Reported in the latest edition of ‘The Week’ is the first robust physical evidence that ME is a biological illness and not a psychological disorder or ‘yuppie flu’! A team at Columbia University looked at the immune systems of 298 sufferers and noted distinct patterns in their immune biomarkers. In particular they had raised concentrations of a molecule called interferon gamma, which has been linked to fatigue in people following viral infections such as flu.

This is a big step forward for ME sufferers who have over the years been somewhat dismissed by the medical profession due to no physiological defects being found on conventional medical testing. ME sufferers are close to my heart, as I lost a dear friend to this disease as she suffered year in year out. There is no doubt in mind that there is an initial biological reason for their chronic fatigue, but as time goes on there is a general spiral of dysfunction of their health and with this comes the inevitable psychological element of depression. Let’s hope that this recent research can help uncover a treatment regime that can help prevent this spiral of dysfunction and years of suffering.